& The Del McCoury Band.
Steve Earle & The Del McCoury Band: Steve Earle (vocals, electric & high string guitars, mandolin); Del McCoury (vocals, guitar); Ronnie McCoury (vocals, bouzouki, mandolin); Rob McCoury (guitar, banjo); Jason Carter (fiddle); Mike Bub (bass).
Additional personnel includes: Iris Dement (vocals); Sam Bush (mandolin, background vocals); Gene Wooten, Jerry Douglas (dobro); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Dan Gillis (tin whistle); Emmylou Harris, Kathy Chiavola, Tim O'Brien, Gillian Welch, Dave Rawlings, Lisa Huskey, Taylor Huskey, J.T. Huskey, John Hartford, Meghann Ahern, Marty Stuart, Cowboy Jack Clement, Dave Ferguson, Benny Martin, Peter Rowan (background vocals).
Recorded at Room & Board, Nashville, Tennessee. Includes liner notes by Steve Earle.
All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.
THE MOUNTAIN was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
Earle made his name as a country-rock rebel, but like outlaws before him, his roots are in trad country and folk, and this nod to his roots was inevitable. THE MOUNTAIN is Earle's tribute to bluegrass godfather Bill Monroe, but instead of recording Monroe's songs, our boy wrote a batch of original bluegrass tunes. The songs bear Earle's distinctive stylistic stamp, but one can easily imagine them being played by the old master. Being no dummy, Earle enlisted the aid of the Del McCoury band, one of the finest, most uncompromising contemporary bluegrass bands. His easy interaction with them is a large part of what makes THE MOUNTAIN work. Imagine the traditional acoustic country sound of "The Other Side of Town" from Earle's previous EL CORAZON, extended to a full album and you'll have a pretty accurate picture of the instantly appealing, rootsy delight that is THE MOUNTAIN. minimize